Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of carpets and artificial turf and, more particularly, to an apparatus for use in seaming carpet or artificial turf sections, as well as a method of utilizing the seaming apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for using said apparatus in applications where the backing on the carpet or artificial turf is exceedingly dense or thick.
Discussion of the Prior Art
When installing wall-to-wall carpeting, it is common practice to join various carpet sections by seaming abutting edge strips of the carpet sections. There has heretofore been utilized numerous types of seaming arrangements. These known seaming arrangements include sewing the abutting edge strips, adhesively joining the carpet sections through the use of a heat tape, and interconnecting the carpet sections through cleated connectors. In each case, the interconnection of the carpet sections is preformed manually by the installer.
Creating a seam by sewing carpet sections together can be extremely time consuming and can add considerable costs to the installation of the carpet. For these reasons alone, this seaming method is being utilized with less frequency in today's market. Utilizing heat tape in creating carpet seams, on the other hand, is extremely commonplace as it reduces required installation time and is quite cost effective. Unfortunately, drawbacks exist with respect to this seaming method as well. Although the need for additional tools such as a hot iron may be considered a drawback with such a seaming arrangement, the main drawback concerns the fact that it is extremely common for such a carpet seam to fail well before the carpet wears out. This fact is particularly prevalent in seamed wall-to-wall carpet installations where the entire carpet is stretched utilizing a power stretcher since stretching the carpet in this manner subjects the seam to rather large tension forces. In addition, based on the amount of adhesive utilized, high spots can be formed in the carpeted area and the minimization of such spots depends on the expertise of the installer. The concept of utilizing cleated connectors in creating carpet seams has been long before proposed as evidenced by the teachings in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,552,114, 3,413,678 and 3,760,454. Unfortunately, each of these known arrangements have their associated drawbacks and have therefore not experienced much commercial success. In particular, these cleated connector arrangements are either not designed for use or simply not effective when utilized in power stretched wall-to-wall carpet installations due to their particular structure which enable them to stretch or flex in one or more directions, as well as the manner in which they are mounted to the carpet sections and supporting surfaces. There are also systems and methods for using a seaming apparatus to join two carpet seams in power stretched wall-to-wall installations as evidenced by U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,664 entitled “CARPET SEAMING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF UTILIZING THE SAME” and issued on Sep. 1, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
In particular, the prior art carpet seaming methods and apparatuses do not perform adequately when the backing on the carpet, or in some applications artificial turf, is particularly thick or dense, such as with commercial carpeting typically found in offices, retail stores, and banks. The existing seaming apparatuses have short, triangular teeth that do not adequately “seat” or penetrate the backing of denser carpets or artificial turf. Hot melt tape and mesh/glue seaming methods are not desirable in these applications because carpets or artificial turf seamed using these methods are prone to failure and are particularly vulnerable to damage from moisture because the hot melt tape or glue used in these seaming methods are not waterproof.
When Seaming artificial turf for a residential lawn, Golf Course Turf, or Soccer Field/Football Field Turf, a mesh like seam tape, which is non-porous, and is used in conjunction with various adhesives so the adhesive will not seep through. The prior art method employs a two step approach. Existing methods may use a minimum of 12″ wide tape and may use up to 36″ wide tape depending upon the situation in which the “field” or turf will be used. Typically, in this method, the glue takes a full 24 hours to cure all the way through and the process of gluing down the mesh under existing methods is extremely labor intensive. The adhesive used must be notch trowelled on to the mesh to ensure an even coating of the glue across the entire tape. There are several drawbacks to using the prior art methods.
The adhesive used in these methods is either a synthetic, rubber, or other chemical makeup. There are petroleum distillates in many of them and the chemicals may cause problems and produce hazardous side effects. Typically, artificial turf heats up to 3 times the temperature of sod. When this happens, the chemicals in the adhesive can “gas”. This not only causes the seam to rise up and “peak” off of the substrate or supporting surface, but also releases harsh vapors. If there is too much glue or adhesive applied to the seam, the chemicals in the adhesives can eat away at or dissolve the rubber backings of the turf itself when the field is heated up by the outdoor sun.
What is needed is a carpet or artificial turf seaming method that is suited for use in applications where the backing on the carpet or artificial turf is particularly dense or thick, and also where the seam should be both waterproof and wear resistant without creating a “hump” or profile in the carpet seam.